The article is devoted to the political and legal analysis of integration processes in the post-Soviet states – Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. It reviews the activities of the Customs Union and its economic and political expediency, as well as the creation and functioning of the Eurasian Economic Union. The author has revealed the reasons for the ineffectiveness of the EAEC activities and proposed a number of legal, political and economic measures to improve it. The paper provides examples of internal economic and political contradictions of the Eurasian Economic Union and offers a legal mechanism to resolve them, and further regulation on the basis of creating a single legal space.

Despite the fact that Switzerland does not formally belong to the European Union, it has always been strongly associated with the above organization at various levels. At first, after World War II, the contact was established with considerable caution which resulted from economic and trade contacts of Swiss government with Germany and Italy maintained during the war. First international contracts were related to the economic sphere and later on expanded by addressing the sphere of social issues such as legal system, culture, charity, science and education. At present, due to bilateral agreements, Switzerland has been integrated with the European Union even more than its newest Member States, i.e. Bulgaria, Romania and Croatia, which confirms the significant flexibility of this Community as well as its great possibility to adapt to each of its Members.

According to the Swiss, the greatest obstacle preventing this country from joining the EU is the upholding principle of eternal neutrality, although the importance of which has decreased over the years, it has been deeply rooted in Swiss mentality. Moreover, another factor preventing Switzerland from joining the EU is its strong economy as Swiss membership would result in the need to pay relatively higher contributions than that of other Member States of the Community. Although the contacts between the EU and Switzerland have been significantly intensified, the prospect of membership still seems relatively remote, all the more as bilateral agreements as well as participation in the Schengen area since 2008 make both parties satisfied and for now none of them intends to seek new solutions.

This paper is a hermeneutic analysis of selected academic publications. This paper examines a number of issues related to undertaking social roles by adults with disabilities and the problem of their postponed transition to adulthood, restricting or delaying developmental tasks typical of adulthood, which has negative implications and may exacerbate disability. Support provided by various entities and institutions may reduce existing barriers and enhance their social integration. Both positive and negative effects of using social support by people with disabilities have been pointed out. Sources of social support have been listed along with their specifics. The analysis included the disabled person’s gender, as it determines the nature of support and its reception. Finally, the need for personalised support was emphasised along with risks resulting from institutional discrimination. The role of local community was highlighted as it corresponds to the concept of community-based support and the need to promote various initiatives aimed at integration and normalisation of life for people with disabilities.

Since the fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Russian Federation has been trying to regain its importance in the global arena. One way of restoration of influence in the world is to build a multipolar order, including the establishment of regional alliances. Shanghai Cooperation Organization is one of such attempts in the region of Central Asia, and even the entire Asian continent. Therefore, drawing attention to the role of Russian Federation in the development of this structure appears to be important, especially when considering the growing significance of Central Asia as a result of the construction of the New Silk Road. Russian authorities, however, do not limit their involvement to the single structure. At the same time they are working on development of other organizations, aimed at building their influence in the world. By such actions Russian Federation is trying to minimize the significance of the People’s Republic of China, European Union and United States of America, especially in the so-called near abroad.

Since Poland joined the European Community, it has been transforming from a country of emigration into an emigration-immigration one. Year by year an increase of immigrants coming to Poland has been observed, which involves the Polish government and local authorities taking actions within the implementation of migration policy. The multifaceted processes of integration take place on the levels of linguistics, culture, education, and social activation aimed at combating social exclusion of this group of Polish inhabitants.

In the article, the question is raised whether human knowledge, abilities, emotions and socialization are capable of shaping social structures according to the idea of multiculturalism (which faces a critical situation), introducing the humanistic quality to the principles of coherence and integration. With my own research results in the background (diagnostic polling and individual interviews), integration and identity are presented as strategies determined by aims, subjects (players) and profits (rewards). What has been indicated is the idea worth promoting in the field of pedagogy, in educational institutions and in whole societies, i.e., shaping the culture which re-builds the real power of group life. The postulate to shape such culture in multicultural communities is very hard to implement, but not impossible. The presented results of the studies conducted on a specific group of young Europeans – the participants of a short-term international voluntary workcamp – indicate and illustrate the development of cognitive functions, motivation and interactive activity of kindness- based character.
The interpretative tracks and motifs for the obtained results are sought in K. Illeris’s holistic concept of learning and in other theories of various origin, not much known in the field of pedagogy: H. Simon’s concept of bounded rationality and R. Aumann’s theory of repeated games (otherwise called the theory of “conflict and cooperation” or “interactive decisions”). Applying two different approaches into the discussed issues – the theoretical and empirical, detailed and partially generalized approach – is cognitively interesting and useful in the practical dimension. This might help both to specify the stimuli which cause the evolution of human attitudes and strategies of acting and to design and organize education.

This paper is a report of some studies conducted by the author in the Roma community in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. After a brief introduction and characteristics of the surveyed group, the theoretical basis of the research and the methodological approach was presented. The project was supposed to be an attempt to show the difference between the education of Roma and of the dominant community in their country of residence. The research objective of the project was to identify the Roma perception of education and school duty, to identify and understand the relationship between the Roma identity and their relation to education and participation. Three areas were analysed: identities, culture, and education. The identification of their identities, their participation in culture and the education of the culturally dominant group are indicated. The conclusions concern the current situation of the Roma in these areas and possible recommendations or solutions for the future.

The aim of the article is to present vital issues related to the school situation of foreign children in Poland. The first part concerns the processes of education and integration of this group of students and legal possibilities to support them. The second one is devoted to the presentation of two (co-written by the author of the article) pedagogical innovations (intercultural portfolio and intercultural tales), which allow us to work with foreigners (kindergarten or first grade) and culturally diverse groups. They serve teaching Polish as a foreign language and forming sensitivity towards otherness.
Poland is a country with a relatively low degree of cultural diversity. Working with foreign students is still a big challenge for the teaching staff. Properly chosen educational methods are an important part of the success of the education and integration of foreign students.
Evaluation studies show that the methods presented in the text, because of their specificity (possibility of an active and creative learning), gained approval of students and teachers, and are effective. They motivate students to learn and share knowledge about their own culture. They can be used in the course of various activities in the area of education. This article is for everyone interested in intercultural education of children.

NSZZ “Solidarność” years 1980 – 1990 as an integrated factor of Kujawsko-Pomorskie region

Independent Self-governing Trade Union “Solidarity” did not accept the disintegration of the state by dividing into 49 small provinces and districts liquidation – both in the program and operations sought to community actions. Similarly happened in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region, where “Solidarity” unionists in the public and conspiracy activities sought to create a macro-region of their trade union within the limits of the liquidated in 1975 Bydgoszcz-region. By 1989 cooperation between regions: Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek was very good. The experience of “Solidarity” can now be used in the process of integration of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region, as an idea of regional solidarity – a sense of mutual dependence and mutual responsibility for the prosperity and development of the entire region.

In this article the authors examine the impact of integration processes on the competitiveness of national economies of the participating countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEC). Any integration, including integration within the EAEC affects the economy of participants in two ways: on the one hand it favorably promotes multilateral mutually beneficial business contacts, and on the other hand, it feels the strength, competing with each other, the individual national economies. The authors comprehensively investigated the current situation and problems of the EAEC with the use of different methods of political analysis (comparative and system analysis, content analysis, event analysis, SWOT-analysis, and others.). In a sufficiently sharp polemical form, based on credible evidence materials, the article shows not only the integration of interaction, but also features of competition within the EAEC, the causes of conflict, as well as the consequences that resulted in the devaluation of ruble and dumping prices in Russia, which in turn all have a negative impact on competitiveness of the economies of Kazakhstan and Belarus.

The contribution presents a new education and training programme “Stepping into Life with the Right Values,” aimed to improve integration of mentally disabled pupils into the system of vocational training centres and thus also society. The goal of the presented programme was not only to create suitable conditions for pupils’ harmonious adaptation to the dormitory environment, but also to teach them appropriate orientation in various life situations. Effectiveness of the programme was verified experimentally at selected vocational training centres in Slovakia during the 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 school years. Our research confirmed that pupils who had gone through the adaptation process using the new programme were statistically significantly better oriented in ordinary life situations at the school dormitory, but also in ordinary life situations outside.

THE RUSSIAN CRISIS AND THE DIRECTIONS TO EXIT FROM, IN LIGHT OF THE WORKS OF EURAZES INSTITUTE

Works of analysts centered in the EurAzES Institute (EI), among them the dissertation by Vladimir Tamak on modernization of the Russian Federation (2012) and the anonymous “Global Project Russia” (2011), prove the vitality of the Eurasian idea in the RF (Russian Federation) and its political potential. Tamak’s reformatory postulates, as well as, in a lesser degree, the ones of other scholars and activists from the circle of EI, are integrated with the negative opinion on political and social reality in the RF after 1993. The analysis of causes and prospective results of the crisis is directed by the thesis about the Russian and global oligarchic involvement. EI’s neo-Eurasian reformatory projects, promoted as innovative, and the only ones among other modernizing programs announced in the recent years, constitute a compilation of selected elements of classical Eurasianism (i.a. idiocracy, organic democracy, anti-Occidentalism, Orthodox traditionalism), a contemporary version of Eurasianism elaborated by L. Gumilov (i.a. relative autarchy), and neo-Eurasianism by A. Dugin (i.a. vision of the future of the RF as Eurasia’s heartland; non-European model of development of Eurasian industry).

The article contains results of the experimental analysis of cooperation pecu- liarities of young people with different vision levels (blind, visually impaired, with normal vision). Greater focus is placed on the statement that serious vision disorders depending on their kind and grade make the process of verbal and especially non-verbal means of communication mastering much more compli- cated. It has been established that young people with serious vision disorders have a low level of integration into social groups, are not active enough in com- munication, avoid close relationships with those who do not have any vision problems. The authors argue in favour of the importance of blind and sighted people’s cooperation activity provision as an obligatory condition for the development of psychologically proper communication and for the formation of social maturity of a personality, regulating its process of social integration.

The ethnic landscape in the Baltic States is dominated by one large ethnic minority: Russians. Lithuania is an exception as here the first biggest ethnic minority are Poles, followed by Russians. The Baltic States have also significant Slavic minorities, such as Belarusians and Ukrainians. There are many barriers for people from different ethnic groups to overcome because the Baltic societies are segregated according to ethnicity across a number of dimensions: language, work and geography. During the Soviet period there were separate language schools, a system that reinforced ethnic separation. Labor market was also split along ethnic lines and a large proportion of ethnic minorities lived spatially segregated from the majority group and was concentrated mostly in urban centers. The impact of communist heritage and the construction of the post-communist state order had a negative impact on the integration process of the Russian minorities in those countries. The ethnic Russians had been heavily marginalized as many of them had no citizenship at all. As a result, they had limited access to labor-market and less social protection. However, the accession of the Baltic States to the European Union (EU) has succeeded in significantly changing policies with respect for and protection of minorities in the three Baltic countries. In the last years the ethnic Russians have in fact been partially accommodated through the consistency of the citizenship laws with the European Union norms, which precisely require the protection of minorities and respect for them. The aim of the study described herein is to investigate the historic roots of ethnic segregation between the native Baltic population and the Russian minority and show how the entry of the Baltic States into the EU has facilitated the process of promoting minority rights, especially from the perspective of granting citizenship right to Russian (and Polish) ethnic persons living in those countries.

The article focuses on the activities of the Eurasian Economic Union. Organization can be interpreted as a further step in the integration process of the Eurasian bloc. The first detailed integration plan was announced in 2011 by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in the articles published in the Russian daily “Izviestia”. The presidents’ articles outlined the future alliance, the most important goals and the principles of integration. Leaders mentioned the rule of equality and sovereignty, emphasized that the organization should be non – exclusive. All presidents stipulated that the alliance will not be politicized and spoke only about the economic integration. Finally, one of the strongly stressed postulates was the cooperation with other international organizations. The analysis showed that only part of the postulates presented at that time was accomplished. The implementation of the main goal, multi-level economic integration, remains incomplete.

Inclusion is often understood as a deeper integration, what means that integration itself loses its basic sense of a voluntary and spontaneous interpersonal relationship based on the equality of rights and equalization of life (developmental) opportunities. Integration as a pedagogical concept originates from the idea of the universal education known since the times of Jan Amos Komensky, and nowadays it refers into the philosophical and social contexts of the idea of freedom and equality, constituting an important aspect of the social cohesion policy. Quite rarely, attention is paid to the fact that social (including educational) inclusion can – in defiance of noble assumptions and without conscious intention – aim at dominating the included minority group. The proposal to think about integration as the purpose of inclusion concerns both activities undertaken on educational grounds (especially for students with special educational needs) and more general social policy.

Dziecko z doświadczeniem migracyjnym coraz częściej staje się uczniem polskiej szkoły, która nie jest do końca na to przygotowana. Szczególnym typem doświadczenia migracyjnego są migracje powrotne, kiedy to rodzina po okresie spędzonym za granicą wraca do kraju wraz z dziećmi, urodzonymi jeszcze w kraju pochodzenia rodziców bądź już na emigracji. Obecnie mamy do czynienia z nasilającymi się procesami remigracji, co sprawia, że również szkoły powinny być przygotowane na przyjęcie uczniów „powracających”, najczęściej dwujęzycznych, a jednocześnie z pewnymi ograniczeniami w zakresie znajomości języka polskiego, którzy muszą borykać się z różnicami programowymi oraz kulturowymi, m.in. dotyczącymi kultury szkoły. Wydaje się, że idea międzykulturowego otwarcia instytucji, którą można za niemiecką pedagogiką międzykulturową odnieść również do szkoły, daje narzędzia do przygotowania instytucji na funkcjonowanie w sytuacji wysokiej różnorodności społecznej i kulturowej. międzykulturowego otwarcia szkoły jako odpowiedzi na potrzeby ucznia z rodziny reemigrantów, jak również uczniów z innym typem doświadczenia migracyjnego. Międzykulturowe otwarcie szkoły zostanie również odniesione do procesu integracji społecznej migrantów, co pozwala widzieć placówki szkolne w szerszym kontekście działania sieci instytucji najbliższego otoczenia społecznego na rzecz efektywnej adaptacji społecznej oraz (re)integracji całej powracającej rodziny.

Problems of Formation and Development of Statehood of the Republic of Karakalpakstan

This article is a study of the statehood of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, its integration with Uzbekistan and the problems faced by the Karakalpak national movements. The study can be considered relevant and innovative, since the problems of Karakalpakstan are insufficiently studied in the Polish and European scientific community. The development of relations with the countries of Central Asia, which have large reserves of natural resources, including oil and gas, is one of the priorities of the foreign policy of the European Union. Therefore, the study of regional problems and prediction of possible military-political conflicts in this region of the world, and how to respond to them, is of particular relevance to the political sciences.

In recent years, especially since 2014, we have observed an unprecedented increase in the number of migrants in Poland, which is also reflected in the school community. Every year the number of migrant students grows, and with it the challenges faced by Polish schools. One of the responses of Polish legislation to these difficulties are intercultural assistants who, working in schools, support migrant students, their parents and teachers. They are also a kind of bridge connecting the Polish and migrant communities. In this article, I refer to the concept of intercultural opening, which is about building inclusive communities and institutions (including schools) for everyone, regardless of origin, nationality or language of communication. The aim of this article is to present the concept of intercultural opening as one of the antidotes to the challenges of the increasing number of migrants and cultural diversity, and the role of intercultural assistants in the process of intercultural school opening. In the first part of the article, I present the situation of migrant children in Polish schools. I refer to the statistical data and the legal framework which determine the education system of migrant children in Poland. The second part contains the concept of an intercultural opening of the school and its characteristic features, while the third one presents the role and tasks of an intercultural assistant in the process of intercultural opening of the school. The last part of the article is a summary.

The article is aimed at drawing attention to the research motifs explored by the author in his studies and, first of all, at raising questions about the sense of research into the Romani identity. An attempt is made here both to suggest some theories and methods which can be useful in identity studies and to signal the difficulties in carrying such research out. The major subject matter of the suggested research projects should address the problems of the Romani identity and culture, this ethnic group’s participation in education, and their specific social and professional activity. What seems to be justified (after a reliable diagnosis of the needs, problems, prospects and possible solutions) is the unceasing need for designing programmes, projects and local policies which address the Roma and which come into being with their participation. However, the activities conducted so far should be subjected to an in-depth analysis and evaluation, also in regard to the specificity of Roma communities from various groups and countries. This might help to indicate the elements of their identity, as well as the level of joint participation in the context of the still incomplete integration with culturally dominating majorities.